The Vagus nerve also knows as “The Wanderer” is the largest and most extensive nerve in the human body. It is connected to almost every major organ and gland in your body. This “Holy Grail” of the Parasympathetic Nervous system (REST & Digest!) is also the kissing comrade to the Chakra energy system. Learning to stimulate the Vagus nerve is akin to the reset button for counteracting the effects of chronic stress/ anxiety and depression and the resulting Dis-ease. Through movement, play, breath, toning and Yoga Nidra you will have an opportunity to:

Befriend your inner wanderer and learn what balance and imbalance look like.
Learn the all-important Gut/Brain connection ( the home of all your feel good hormones!)

Learn practical take home tools for continued self-support.

Be introduced to the vagus nerve/ chakra connection (and why you should care!)

Give yourself permission for Deep and Radical Rest.

Sheila Cullen

Sheila Cullen is a Yoga Nidra instructor and teacher based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work explores the power of quiet in movement, yoga and meditation. She offers classes, workshops, retreats and teacher training in Toronto and around the world.

Sheila’s work integrates Eastern and Western approaches to healing, bridging ancient mysticism and modern neuroscience for healing and wellness. She has a background in both science and the arts, and also works as a respiratory therapist at a large urban trauma centre.

Sheila has been practicing, studying and teaching Yoga Nidra for over a 15 years, and has been living and practicing yoga for over 25 years. She holds a degree in Applied Science and Fine Arts and has studied Hatha, Yin, Restorative and Yoga Nidra extensively. Her teachers include Nischala Joy Devi (Yoga of the Heart: Cardiac and Cancer Care Yoga Nidra), Rod Stryker and Jennifer Reis.

From the depth of her own personal practice and study, Sheila creates a compassionate
atmosphere that nourishes a sense of Belonging and Connection within the bodies, minds, hearts
and spirits of her students.

Join Sheila for an afternoon of rich and intentional rest through the practice of Yoga Nidra.

The Holiday’s hold all of the “feels”. Joy, stress, sadness (when we are missing loved ones), excessiveness -Hello cheese plates, bubbly and socializing!…all of which can be intensely draining, both physically and emotionally.

We invite you to give yourself an afternoon of self- care which will include some slow nurturing movement, self- massage, aromatherapy and positive intention setting – (sankalpa). This workshop is designed to relax and renew you on every possible level. It’s a mini hibernation, a staycation, a much needed opportunity to turn inward, to allow your nervous systems to recover, to enable the immune system to recharge, and the fractured mind to quiet.

Sheila Cullen

Sheila Cullen is a Yoga Nidra instructor and teacher based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work explores the power of quiet in movement, yoga and meditation. She offers classes, workshops, retreats and teacher training in Toronto and around the world.

Sheila’s work integrates Eastern and Western approaches to healing, bridging ancient mysticism and modern neuroscience for healing and wellness. She has a background in both science and the arts, and also works as a respiratory therapist at a large urban trauma centre.

Sheila has been practicing, studying and teaching Yoga Nidra for over a 15 years, and has been living and practicing yoga for over 25 years. She holds a degree in Applied Science and Fine Arts and has studied Hatha, Yin, Restorative and Yoga Nidra extensively. Her teachers include Nischala Joy Devi (Yoga of the Heart: Cardiac and Cancer Care Yoga Nidra), Rod Stryker and Jennifer Reis.

From the depth of her own personal practice and study, Sheila creates a compassionate atmosphere that nourishes a sense of Belonging and Connection within the bodies, minds, hearts and spirits of her students.

The ancient practice of Yoga Nidra is a form of meditation – a unique combination of deep rest & relaxation within a state of alert awareness. Yoga Nidra rejuvenates and renews both the physical body and the mind. It is a quiet practice that heals and transforms.

Yoga Nidra means the “sleep of the yogis”. It is a state of relaxed consciousness, which is the result of a guided sequential journey inward to stillness. Yoga Nidra gives the practitioner an opportunity to release long held perceptions, patterns and beliefs that are relied on to make sense of our modern world.

We are all conditioned in the way we experience our reality by memories of the past. Within the deep state of Yoga Nidra, one can release and heal subconscious issues related to health, work, stress and relationships resulting in a more conscious and powerful existence.

In this intensive you will learn:

The history and development of Yoga Nidra

Intentions, and how they shape the practice

The neuroscience of Yoga Nidra

The stages of Yoga Nidra

Understanding the Kosha’a (5 subtle bodies)

Creating Sankalpa (heart felt intention)

Yoga Nidra as a meditative practice

The role of deep restorative rest on regulating the nervous system

Growing your own practice

Developing scripts and finding your voice

Working with specific groups

At the end of this course you will have the skills needed to teach groups and individuals (including children) and the confidence to offer others the gift of Yoga Nidra.

This course is appropriate for yoga teachers, health professionals, dedicated yoga practitioners, parents & partners. CEU’s have been approved by the Yoga Alliance and Ontario Nurses Association. If you are a professional requiring CEU’s for your college please inquire and we will make contact to try to arrange this if possible.

Sheila Cullen

Sheila Cullen is a Yoga Nidra instructor and teacher based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work explores the power of quiet in movement, yoga and meditation. She offers classes, workshops, retreats and teacher training in Toronto and around the world.

Sheila’s work integrates Eastern and Western approaches to healing, bridging ancient mysticism and modern neuroscience for healing and wellness. She has a background in both science and the arts, and also works as a respiratory therapist at a large urban trauma centre.

Sheila has been practicing, studying and teaching Yoga Nidra for over a 15 years, and has been living and practicing yoga for over 25 years. She holds a degree in Applied Science and Fine Arts and has studied Hatha, Yin, Restorative and Yoga Nidra extensively. Her teachers include Nischala Joy Devi (Yoga of the Heart: Cardiac and Cancer Care Yoga Nidra), Rod Stryker and Jennifer Reis.

From the depth of her own personal practice and study, Sheila creates a compassionate
atmosphere that nourishes a sense of Belonging and Connection within the bodies, minds, hearts
and spirits of her students.

The theme for this upcoming workshop is ‘Attuning the Body for Autumn.’ In Chinese medicine, the Fall season is associated with the lung organ. We move from the external expansive nature of summer to the internal, contractive nature of autumn. The Lung is responsible for distributing Qi through our blood and meridians to nourish our internal organs and tissues, and nourish the skin.

Join us for an afternoon of Yin yoga led by Becky Yin focusing on Lung and Spleen (our digestion system) meridians. During the practice, our registered acupuncturist Laura will apply acupuncture at specific locations on the body to support the body and mind, benefit the Lung, and enhance immune and digestive systems.

Laura Allison Iler Kaufer

Laura is registered with the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (CTCMPAO). She is trained in acupuncture, tuina, moxibustion, guasha (myofascial release), cupping and electro-stimulation, and uses these modalities to relieve pain, promote healing and regulate the body.

In 2016, Laura interned at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine in China completing in-depth studies of neurological and pain conditions, including Bell’s Palsy, neck and back pain, and stroke sequelae. Another area of focus during the internship was treating children for respiratory, digestive and developmental problems. She also works with Toronto AcuBirthing to provide acupuncture and Chinese medicine to support pregnancy and ease the transition from pregnancy to motherhood.

With previous education and work experience in nutrition, Laura is passionate about having a positive relationship with food and leading a balanced lifestyle.

As an avid paddler and member of dragonboat and outrigger teams, she has a keen interest in optimal body conditioning and athletic performance using Chinese medicine as a way to balance, tonify and repair.

Want to move like a gymnast? Eager to master a handstand hold, but unsure of where to start?

Join Strongnastics Coach Jenn Lymburner on Saturday, October 13th for a 2-hour handstand foundations workshop! Perfect for athletes of all fitness levels, this workshop will introduce important mobility, strength and technique drills to get you comfortable upside down.

What will be covered?
• Foundational shapes integral to developing a perfect handstand line (hollow and arch)
• Locomotions designed to get your body warm and joints moving, and to create general mind-body
awareness that will translate to inversions
• Bridge and mobility drills to get your shoulders, spine, hips, and wrists prepared for handstands
• How to safely fall: Front rolls, cartwheels and drills to help build confidence on and off the wall
• Headstands
• Handstand balancing drills with options for all levels

Jenn Lymburner

Jenn is a Co-Owner and Coach of Strongnastics, a local fitness business that provides workshops, personal training and remote coaching for adults looking to improve their gymnastics and bodyweight training.

Her experience as an athlete has gotten her to where she is today and has shaped her passion for helping others achieve their health and fitness goals. Jenn was a provincial level gymnast, a Team Canada national level power tumbler, an NCAA cheerleader on scholarship at Hawaii Pacific University, a top 10 Canada East CrossFit Regionals competitor, and a National Canadian Olympic weightlifter. While she no longer competes, she is always looking for new opportunities to challenge herself physically, and continues to use gymnastics-style training to push towards her goals.

Treat yourself and your body to this 2-hour self-massage workshop. Yoga Tune Up Therapy Ball System® is a specifically designed to penetrate through layers of skin and muscle to massage your whole body or specific troubled areas. It has been used as an adjunct offering within many professions including personal training, Pilates, yoga, massage therapy… and much more. You will learn these easy to follow but efficient techniques to release muscular tension, improve posture, increase mobility and enhance performance.

Mysore is a city in south India. It is the home of Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois and his family. Sri Jois has learnt the yoga practice direct from his guru Sri. Krishnamacharya. Following the tradition of Patanjali, the true art and science of yoga, the practice of yoga is taught following the limbs he prescribed known as Ashtanga. The primary or initial one to be taught and learned, and that leads to a tremendous foundation, if done with sincerity, regularity and over enough time, is that of asana.

For those new to Mysore-Style Ashtanga and Ashtanga Yoga, this workshop teaches the foundations of postural and internal aspects of Mysore-Style Ashtanga to get you off to a strong beginning of an Ashtanga practice.

This course is great for those who feel intimidated by Ashtanga, or who would just like some extra structure and attention to get a solid practice going. Attendance is limited to make sure everyone gets individual attention, so please preregister early.

Melanie Schorr

Melanie has been practicing Yoga for over 16 years and teaching group and private classes for over a decade. Her practice started in her hometown of Toronto after a bad car accident left her in extremely bad condition. Since then, she has had numerous other accidents, injuries and surgeries, using yoga as a tool for physiotherapy.

All of Melanie’s formal training was done under the highly respected Yogi Vijay Amar in Dharamsala, India. Her training was an intense one-on-one course consisting of not only the actual doing and teaching of Yoga, but also of human anatomy and the effects of Yoga on the body. She then opened up her own Yoga centre in Thailand, and in addition, taught private and group classes at a few luxury resorts. After 10 years in Thailand, she returned to Toronto.

Because of her teachings in India, Melanie’s own teaching style follows that of her teacher and is therefore quite traditional. It focuses on helping to move energy throughout the body; aiding the body to function properly internally. She also follows the Indian philosophy behind Yoga and believes that Yoga truly is the coming together of the body, mind and soul. She regularly returns to India to train more and advance her own practice.

The intention of this workshop is to provide you with a safe space to feel deeply and release emotions that are held within the body. By holding Restorative postures the body begins to open up and heals itself through deep relaxation.

As we move through the class Vanessa will be infusing Reiki energy healing to realign the body’s energy channels, release emotional and physical tension stored in the body and alleviate physical pains and ailments.

Each posture is supported with the use of blocks, bolsters, blankets and eye pillows to support you in the pose. During savasana Vanessa will take you on a sound healing journey using various instruments, drum medicine and vocalization.

Reiki is natural and can be used by everyone. With long-term use this sensationally uplifting process aids in spiritual awakening, trauma & karma clearing, eliminates habitual negative reactions and alleviates stress, anxiety and depression and increases creative energy & peace of mind.

This peaceful practice will be accompanied with a smudging ceremony, candles, calming music, and essential oils.

Vanessa Finiello

Vanessa began practising yoga in 2011 and instantly felt connected to its teaching as it offered a bridge to her spiritual awakening and passion. She completed yoga teacher training in 2014 with Yoga Therapy Toronto receiving over 350 hours and has a background in Reiki Therapy, completing Level 1, 2 and Master’s Degree in Reiki as well as Psychotherapy. She teaches Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, and Restorative Yoga, and incorporates Reiki Energy Therapy into classes to create a space for deep healing and transformation.

We will hold our second Power Pilates training, Core Mat I, on June 1-2, 2019. The Core Mat I program is the foundation of the Power Pilates method. Each subsequent program builds upon the information learned during this course.

During this weekend, teacher candidates will learn to teach the 18 beginner level mat exercises and be introduced to Power Pilates teaching tools, philosophy, and teaching formula. After completing Core Mat I, graduates are ready to start teaching beginner level mat classes and may go on to Power Pilates Core Mat II, Advanced Mat, and Apparatus training programs.

Join us in this interactive workshop as we break down myofascial adhesions, release tightness and stimulate blood flow in the entire body using the acuBalls. The 2nd half of the workshop will guide you through a Yin style practice with the use of Acuballs to release target areas of your body.

The *Acuball is a 100% natural muscle and joint pain relief tool, applying naturalacupressure to relax muscles and create a de-stressing effect.

Stephanie Hutchinson

Stephanie has been using cardio and weight training to keep fit since 1974. She then added yoga to her routine in the 80s to bring a sense of balance to her life. Enjoying yoga and all of its benefits, she sought different forms of yoga until some friends introduced her to hot yoga. She began a daily practice, and after finding better health and improved posture, she decided to train as a teacher.

Stephanie trained under Bikram and his senior teachers in Los Angeles and received her certificate in November of 2003, Moksha yoga in 2004, Yin yoga with Paul Grilley & Paulie Zink, Anatomy Trains with Carrie Gaynor, restorative & yoga therapy at CCNM. Trained to teach Acuball classes, also various workshops over the years to enhance knowledge, teaching and practice.

She is dedicated to yoga and intends to continue studying so that she can bring a wealth of knowledge to her class and share this with fellow yoga practitioners.